The Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a statue honoring Kobe Bryant in a ceremony outside Crypto.com Arena on Thursday. The bronze statue is 19 feet tall and weighs 4,000 pounds.
Kobe is the seventh Lakers legend to have a statue commemorated in the Plaza of Stars. Others include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, announcer Chick Hearn, Magic Johnson, Shah Quayle O’Neal and Jerry West.
The unveiling date is very important to the numerology of Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, both of whom died in a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, California on January 26, 2020. Thursday is February 8, 2024 — 2/8/24 — a date that combines Kobe’s jersey numbers (8 and 24) with Gianna’s jersey number (2) when she played for the Mamba Sports Academy ).
Prior to its unveiling, the pose of the Kobe Bryant statue had been one of the NBA’s best-kept secrets. The gesture captured Bryant’s career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006, with his right arm raised in the air and his index finger pointed at the fans. The sculpture is surrounded by five championship trophies, representing Bryant’s five Lakers championships in his career. The base of the statue is engraved with the words KOBE BEAN BRYANT “Black Mamba” and contains the scoring record of the 2006 game. A quote from Kobe is written on the side of the base: “Let the game be better than when you started. When you leave, leave a legend.” According to Kobe’s widow Vanessa Bryant, outside Crypto.com Arena There will be three statues of Kobe Bryant: one wearing No. 8, one wearing No. 24 and one wearing Gianna.
Bryant retired in 2016 after 20 seasons with the Lakers. During his Hall of Fame career, he won five championships, two Finals MVPs, one MVP, two Olympic gold medals, was selected to the All-Star team 18 times, and was selected to the All-NBA team 11 times. Kobe was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on May 15, 2021. He is the first and only Laker player to have two jersey numbers retired and hung in the rafters of Crypto.com Arena.
There are also plans to build two statues of Bryant: one wearing No. 24 and another wearing Gianna. Location and date to be determined. https://t.co/oveNq89LnM
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) February 9, 2024
Lakers guard Austin Reeves said the lights with Kobe Bryant’s number on the wall inside the Lakers’ training facility are a constant reminder of Kobe Bryant’s greatness and impact.
“I grew up idolizing Kobe,” Levis said Monday. “The Lakers are my favorite team and to be able to wear the same uniform that he wore and play in the same arena in Los Angeles is special. It’s something I’ve talked about many times. Like I said , Kobe was my idol growing up. I wanted to do everything like him.”
Vanessa Bryant collaborated with the Lakers organization on the design. The sculpture was made by Omri Amrany and Julie Rotblatt-Amrany, the Illinois couple who created all the statues outside Crypto.com Arena.
Due to the weather in Los Angeles, the ceremony was held under an oversized white tent. The exhibit is closed to the public, but will open to the public on Friday at 10 a.m. PST.
Thursday night marks one of the busiest days on the NBA calendar as the Lakers host the defending champion Denver Nuggets, who swept Los Angeles in the 2023 Western Conference Finals. Thursday is also the NBA trade deadline, and the Lakers have stayed put and prioritize chasing a third star through trade in the summer of 2024.
“He means a lot to me,” Anthony Davis said of Bryant on Monday. “I think, the big brother, the mentor, I started my career with, going to the Olympics with him, just being under his wing. Teaching me the game, teaching me life and everything. It’s going to be… a cool moment. , obviously seeing that, but also reliving it again in a sense, so, I don’t know. My emotions are definitely going to be high.”
Los Angeles wore a black and gold snakeskin “Black Mamba” city edition jersey against the Nuggets to pay tribute to Kobe, nicknamed “Black Mamba.” The Lakers first wore the jersey during the 2017-18 season and then again during their championship run in the 2020 Orlando Bubble. The jersey’s most iconic moment occurred in Game 2 of the 2020 Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets when Anthony Davis hit the game-winning three-pointer.
“That’s right,” LeBron James said Monday. “I mean, here’s a guy who’s been with this organization for two decades, won multiple championships, set a precedent for excellence. … His accomplishments speak for themselves. Not just his inspiration, but his presence off the field.” , the community and the entire basketball community. So, I think it’s a great moment, not only for him but for his family.”
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(Kobe Bryant Photo: Harry How/Getty Images)
